Mud-hook.



R. A. MAQDONELL.

MUD HOOK.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.17, 1912.

Patented June 17, 1913.

INVE/VTUH ATTORNEY nn rrn srarns rarnnr amen RIEMAN A. n dnonnnt, or r'nsivannrna, rLon'InA.

MUD-HOOK.

roeaoea.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that 1, Roman A. 'luAC DoNnLL, a citizen of the United States,rcsiding at Fernandina, in the county of Nassau and State of Florida, have invented certain new and usefullmprovements in Mud- Hooks, of which the following is a specification. 4 My invention relates to traction grips designed for, the purpose of assisting automobiles in pulling out of heavy sand, mud, and such other places where the wheels cannot get a grip upon the ground.

The objects of my invention are to pro in that construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and embraced within the scope of the appended claim.

In said drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a wheel showing the application of my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail transverse sectional elevation of the pneumatic tire and a portion of one of the spokes, to which latter the traction grip is applied. Fig. 3 is a detail end elevation of the device removed, and a is a transverse sectional view taken along lines i4 of Fig. 2. I The traction grip embodying my invent-ion consists of a single piece of metal-having one extremity concave to correspond to the contour of the spokes of a wheel, in combination with a pair of clamping members whichpass over the said concave portion of the device and are secured to opposite sides of the spokes, the said extremity'mergmg outwardly into a fiat paddleshaped portion which lies at right angles to the plane of rotation of the wheel and terminates a slight distance short of the 1.1 riphery of the tire.

.Referring more particularly to the drawtags for a detail description of my inven-' tion the numeral 1 designates a conventional Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June it, 1913.

Application filed September 17,1912. Serial No. 720,812.

type of automobile wheel having the as. 3. The traction device or grip, which forms the subject-matter of my invention, comprises a single or integral piece of metal having one extremity, as 4;,.concave and merging outwardly to another extremity 5 which is flat and shaped somewhat similar to a paddle. For the purpose of clarity in describing my invention, the portions 4 and 5 of the device will be styled inner and outer extremities, respectively, of the grip. As will be found upon inspection of Fig. 2 of the drawings, the concave inner extremity 4 is placed longitudinally of and contiguous the spoke 2 at a point adjacent to the connection of the spoke with the rim of the usual spokes 2 and a resilient or pneumatic tire,

wheel, and is secured at opposite ends-by a v pair of clamps, as 6. In order to avoid chafing of the spokes pieces of felt 7 are placed between one side of the clamp and the spoke and between the concave extremity and the spoke on the other side. I

It will be noted that the flat paddleshaped portion of the traction grip lies in a plane at right angles to the plane of rotation of the wheel and that it terminates at a point short of the periphery of the tire. In Fig. 1 of the drawings four of the traction grips are shown applied to the wheel, but it will be obvious that any number of the devices may be used.

If desired, the traction grips may be placed upon the rear Wheels of an automobile and used permanently, or they may be carried as a part of the equipment of the car and employed only when necessary. The permanent or temporary use of the grip depends to a great extent upon the particular section of the country in which an automobile travelszif the country is sandy and muddy it would be desirable to permanently attach the devices to the \vheelsof the machine. but if the roads are in good condition and have only limited stretches of sand or mud it would be advisable to use the grips only in case of emergencies. The reason why the grips can be used as a permanent fixture to the wheels is that the outer terminal of the pnddleshaped portion 5 above the point where the tire engages the surface of the ground. and in the event of any small stones or similar obstructions lying in the path of the portion 5 it will be manifest that the same will be thrown or knocked to the side of the wheel. On the other hand, if the rocks or obstructions are of unusually large proportiom/t-he device may be adjusted inwardly toward the hub of the 'wheel so that there will be absolutely' no danger of breaking, twisting or otherwise injuringthe grips.

' In act'on, that is to say, when the ma chine encounters mud or sand, the wheels will naturally sinkinto the mud-or sand, whereupon the paddle-shaped portion, 5 will be brought into engagement with the mud or sand and owing to its rigid. connection with the spoke of the wheel, there will be sufficient traction set-up to insure an unin- -arrangementshown is thought at the present time to be preferable, "it is desired to. reserve the right to effect such modifications 'risin an inte ral iece of metal havin extremities disposed substantially in parallelism and an intermediate connecting portion arranged approximately at right angles to said extremities, one of said extremities being concave and the other extremity being fiat and lying in a plane at right angles to the plane of rotation; of the Wheel, said lastmentioned extremity also being spaced from the adjacent side of the tire and terminating short of the periphery of the the in active position, and means for fastening the concave extremity to a spoke of said wheel.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses,

RIEMAN A. MACDONELL. lVitness'es:

E. P. MACDONELL, J L B. MURPHY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner ofiI'atents,

Washington, D. C. 

